1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of accessories for mobile hand sets and pertains particularly to methods and apparatus for securing a hand-held telephone for suspension from a lanyard.
2. Discussion of the State of the Art
The hand-held telephone is arguably the primary telephone communications device used by most people today. Many consumers use mobile hand-held telephones in place of land-line telephones at home and at the office. One problem with using wireless hand-helds is that often they are misplaced, left in cars, left at home, or otherwise, because of misplacement, are not readily available to the user to place or receive telephone calls.
The aftermarket industry including manufacturers of hand-held cellular phones address this issue by providing a standard hand-held case made from leather, cloth or other materials designed to attach to a consumers belt or to be clipped onto a user's pocket, purse lip, or onto some other stationary apparatus or article of clothing. Typically speaking, the case has cut-outs for access to ear phone jacks, charging ports, USB ports or the like and is typically provided for a specific model of telephone.
In some cases, the hand-held must be removed from the case to use the phone. Often removing the telephone is difficult because of a tight fitting case and often the telephone inadvertently gets answered or buttons are inadvertently pressed while the phone is still inside the case. In other cases, the telephone may be operated while enclosed within the case via a cutout for the telephone's operating panel or phone pad.
A particular problem with telephone-carrying apparatus in the art is women's wear. Men have belts and pockets. Much of women's clothing does not. Particularly clothing favored by professional women and business women has no place for a cellular telephone
It has occurred to the inventor that one way to secure a hand-held telephone so that it is rarely misplaced is to secure the telephone directly to an appendage of the user's body as one might secure an ornament like a necklace or bracelet. It has also occurred to the inventor that architecture might be conceived for a phone case that is easier to use, and particularly suited to professional and business women. Therefore, what is clearly needed is a secure and simple system for securing a hand-held cellular telephone in a suspended state that may be easily operated and that enables use of the telephone while the phone is suspended by the system.